Americans love chicken wings.
And I mean, really, what’s not to love?
Whether they’re covered in a thick, crunchy, double-breaded skin, or dipped in thick sauce, or dry-rubbed with just lemon and pepper…they’re a delicious, quick snack that you can absolutely load up on for game day.
(Or really, any day.)
And let’s face it –
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The average American eats 90 chicken wings a year.
In fact, Americans eat an estimated 1.25 billion chicken wings on Super Bowl Sunday, which is (not surprisingly) our biggest wing day.
So, yes: Americans love chicken wings.
But which chicken wings do they love most?
Well…
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Thanks to the good folks over at YouGov, we now have a definitive answer.
Every quarter, YouGov updates data based on its polling – what percentage of respondents know each brand and like each brand.
Then on my end – I look at what percentage of the people who KNOW each brand also like each brand.
Think about it this way:
If 70% of people know something and 35% like it, vs 40% of people knowing a different brand and 34% liking it – that’s half vs 80% of people who know something liking it – indicating that the “lesser-known” brand is actually quite a bit more popular with everyone who knows it.
This ensures that it’s not just a game of name recognition – it’s about brands that a high proportion of folks actually like.
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I call this “true popularity.”
And guess what – based on this measure (and actually, based on any measure), America’s favorite wings aren’t from Wingstop.
Or Buffalo Wild Wings.
Or even KFC!
I was surprised – but maybe you won’t be.
So here are the top eight – and honestly, even #8 is pretty good:
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How many Americans know it: 72%
How many Americans like it: 40%
What percent of the people who know it like it (true popularity): 56%
My take: I like Bojangles’ wings – the breading is thick, crispy, and delicious – but honestly I usually just go for a chicken biscuit. (Because let’s face it, their biscuits are also really good!) Whatever you get, make sure you get a proper Southern sweet tea with it.
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How many Americans know it: 95%
How many Americans like it: 53%
What percent of the people who know it like it (true popularity): 56%
My take: I feel like Buffalo Wild Wings is what really put chicken wings on the map for a lot of people. You get tons of sauces, it’s messy, it’s delicious, and it’s pretty inexpensive. The parmesan garlic and orange chicken sauces are old favorites, but honestly you can’t go wrong with any of them. (Just be prepared – if you get the desert heat dry rub, you’re going to need a LOT of water.)
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How many Americans know it: 37%
How many Americans like it: 22%
What percent of the people who know it like it (true popularity): 59%
My take: Hurricane Grill & Wings is primarily a Florida chain; they have nine restaurants outside of the state (five in New York, and one each in Albama, Arizona, California, and Texas). I had the opportunity to eat there when I was visiting Orlando for a wedding a couple years back, and I have gotta say – wow. The flavors are great, but I think my favorites are the mixed flavors – especially Gold Rush (honey mustard + bbq) and Fire and Ice (buffalo + horseradish).
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How many Americans know it: 82%
How many Americans like it: 50%
What percent of the people who know it like it (true popularity): 61%
My take: I think of Wingstop and Buffalo Wild Wings as pretty similar to each other. Sure, the individual flavors may be a little different, but they both have solid wings, good sauces, and lots of options from “no heat” (I like Wingstop’s Old Bay) to “all the heat” (try Atomic, and good luck). Plus, their cheese fries are excellent. Especially the Louisiana Voodoo fries.
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How many Americans know it: 65%
How many Americans like it: 40%
What percent of the people who know it like it (true popularity): 62%
My take: For Zaxby’s, it’s all about the sauces. Unlike most places, you have the option to toss your wings in one sauce, and then dip them in another. So for example, you could toss them in the eponymous Zax sauce…then dip them in honey mustard tableside. (Or whatever combination you like.) Aside from the Zax sauce, my favorite is probably the buffalo garlic blaze.
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How many Americans know it: 43%
How many Americans like it: 28%
What percent of the people who know it like it (true popularity): 65%
My take: Slim Chickens’ mango habanero sauce is easily my favorite version of that particular sauce. I also like their gravy, which is totally an option for dipping wings and honestly should be offered by more places.
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How many Americans know it: 98%
How many Americans like it: 65%
What percent of the people who know it like it (true popularity): 66%
My take: Ok, I know KFC doesn’t have the traditional “chicken wings”, but it has actual chicken wings (as in: Wing, thigh, and drumstick combo) and also nuggets, which are essentially equivalent to boneless chicken wings.
And their dunk it bucket has been really popular! And with good reason!
Get the sticky chicky sweet ‘n sour sauce, the comeback sauce, and the KFC sauce with your wings – you’ll thank me later.
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How many Americans know it: 96%
How many Americans like it: 66%
What percent of the people who know it like it (true popularity): 69%
My take: Popeyes may not have the most wing sauces (just seven!), but the fact of the matter is that all of them are absolutely delicious.
And perhaps more importantly, many ofthem are just a little different.
Instead of garlic or spicy garlic, they have Louisiana garlic wing sauce – with a slightly punchier taste. Their sweet ‘n smokey chipotle wing sauce is a big favorite too.
And it turns out it’s not just me! Almost 70% of people who have heard of Popeyes (and almost everyone has) likes it.
That tells you something.
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So there you have it – Popeyes has America’s favorite chicken wings, according to YouGov.
People like it better than Wingstop, Buffalo Wild Wings, all the “traditional” wing places.
And you can see why, right?
But here’s the big question…
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Well, two questions, actually.
#1: Which of these places have you been to? Which do you still want to try?
#2: Do you think America’s right? Are Popeyes wings the best? Or who do you prefer?
Let us know both in the comments!
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